Contents

Understand

Bowie is a suburban bedroom community of Washington, D.C.. While Bowie's origins are as a 19th-century railroad town, much of the city consists of ranch and cape cod homes built in the 1960s and 1970s as a planned community by Levitt. Lately, Bowie has grown by annexing various development that have sprouted up around the city's edge since the mid-1980s.

Get in

By plane

Baltimore-Washington International Airport (IATA: BWI) is about 30-40 minutes north via MD197 and MD295.

Washington Dulles International Airport (IATA: IAD) is about an hour west via the Capital Beltway (but can take much, much longer in rush hour).

By train

The MARC train system provides inexpensive service between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.. It is a commuter system that runs Monday-Friday only. Use the Penn Line and exit at Bowie State University.

By bus

Metrobus service to Bowie is available from the New Carrollton Metro station.

Get around

While navigating Bowie by foot seems unlikely, there are a few options to the inevitable auto-driven culture of the suburbs.

By bike

The WB&A Trail cuts through the northern part of Bowie, and various other networks of bike paths and on-street bike routes help make a bicycle a reasonable way to get around town. Unfortunately, Route 50 bisects town and has few bike-friendly crossings.

See

Belair Mansion: Built in 1745 by Samuel Ogle, the provincial governor of Maryland, the mansion serves today as an historical museum operated by the city.

Belair Stables: Most of modern-day Bowie was once a stud farm where champion thoroughbred race horses were born and raised. The Belair Stables operated for roughly 200 years and is famous for producing two Triple Crown champions (Gallant Fox and Omaha).

Do

Allen's Pond: City park featuring a small lake with canoe rentals and fishing, amphitheatre for summer outdoor performances, and ice skating rink.

Buy

Bowie has a variety of malls, but little that's likely to pique the interest of the picky shopper. Two of the malls are Bowie Town Center and Free State Mall. Some of the antique shops in Old Town may be worth your time.

Eat

Rip's Country Inn, 3809 Crain Hwy (US 301 at the MD 197 intersection). Not one of the too-many plastic chain restaurants that infect Bowie. Rip's has served Bowie with casual dining for more than 50 years

Get out

This is a usable article. It has information for getting in as well as some complete entries for restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please plunge forward and help it grow!